Investigation of Al2O3/TiB2 ceramic cutting tool materials with the addition of core–shell structured Ni–B coated CaF2

Abstract Al 2 O 3 based self-lubricating ceramic tool materials with the addition of CaF 2 @Ni–B were prepared using the vacuum hot-pressing technique. The microstructure, mechanical properties and cutting performance of the material with different contents of CaF 2 @Ni–B were studied. Compared to its counterpart tool material without CaF 2 @Ni–B, the fracture toughness and flexural strength of the Al 2 O 3 /TiB 2 /(CaF 2 @Ni–B) self-lubricating ceramic tool materials increased by 40.5 % and 10.1 %, and the tool life increased by 25 %.